


Hello, Goodbye

by caitastrophe8499



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Ava's POV, AvaLance, F/M, all the exes in one room, and i don't want to be mean, and i love him, but i also wanted you to be prepared, but it's a breakup fic, cause that's unfair, john constantine is a shit, so i don't want to tag it as sara/ava
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24689944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitastrophe8499/pseuds/caitastrophe8499
Summary: A call from Oliver Queen sends the WaveRider to Star City for a pickup.No one is prepared.One-shot, canon-divergent...? I haven't watched the last season, so I honestly am not certain this is even canon. So...whatever.
Relationships: Sara Lance/Leonard Snart
Comments: 50
Kudos: 103





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I responded to a comment with something like, "I wonder what Nyssa would say if she met Ava," and this happened. It turned out a lot sadder than what I was originally planning, but hey.
> 
> Starts off AvaLance, serious hints at CaptainCanary.

“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” Ava said to the image on the _WaveRider_ ’s computer.

The man on the other end of the line nodded, and the connection clicked off.

“Gideon,” Ava raised her voice. “Set a course for Star City, 2018.”

**“Yes, Miss Sharpe,”** Gideon retorted.

Ava kept her lips unpursed. Despite Sara’s claims to the contrary, Ava knew that the AI hadn’t exactly warmed up to her since she moved onto the  _ WaveRider _ . But with the disbanding of the Time Bureau, she didn’t have any other immediate purpose. So when Sara had invited her, she’d jumped at the chance.

The ship lurched forward into a time jump, and Ava heard a few curses echo down the hallway. She winced. She should have warned them first.

“Hey,” Sara said, coming onto the bridge, brows raised. “What’s up?”

**“Captain,”** Gideon jumped in, again, a little eager,  **“Miss Sharpe has set a course for-”**

“Oliver Queen called,” Ava interrupted.

Sara’s brow vaulted up further.

“He says that something has shown up in Star City that belongs to you.”

“Okay. Did he say anything about what it was?”

“Just that you needed to show up as soon as possible.”

She scoffed slightly. “Yeah, sounds like Ollie.” Unbothered, Sara just raised her voice slightly. “Gideon?”

**“Yes, Captain?”**

Gideon definitely sounded nicer to Sara than she did to her. She wasn’t imagining it.

“How long until we land?”

**“Approximately five minutes.”**

“Great. Could you tell John to meet us at the hatch for a pickup, please?”

**“Of course, Captain.”**

“Thanks.” She turned and headed towards their room, Ava falling into step beside her.

“If there was any actual danger, Oliver would’ve said, but I don’t like going into this without knowing what’s going on.” Sara glanced over at her. “He didn’t say anything else?”

“Nothing that he would share with me,” Ava said, still a little irritated.

“You could have called me,” Sara suggested gently.

Ava bristled, already familiar with all of Sara’s suggestions on how to work with the  _ WaveRider  _ team. “I don’t need my girlfriend to come and save me every time someone’s mean, Sara.” She keyed in their code and the door slid open. 

“I’m not saying that,” Sara sighed, following her into the room and grabbing some knives from the drawer in her nightstand. Ava hadn’t been thrilled when she rolled over one night and her hand hit one of the several knives beneath Sara’s pillow. Sara had argued that she needed to keep them there for safety. A long, long fight later, all but one knife was in the nightstand.

“I’m saying that Oliver and I are old friends,” Sara continued in that new voice Ava hated so much, the gentle voice that sounded so careful, “and it’s in his job description to be paranoid.”

“Right, so I should just call you instead of learning how to deal with this on my own?” Ava retorted. “If my team needs to work with people like Oliver Queen, then I should-”

“Our team,” Sara interrupted, coming back around towards the door.

“Our team,” Ava huffed, “then I should be respected as a captain, too.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s bad enough that the computer gives me attitude every time I tell it to do something.”

“Her name’s Gideon,” Sara said. “And she’s an AI, so she’s got a personality. She didn’t like John much, either, in the beginning, but now they’re friends.”

“It’s a computer, Sara.”

She could tell that there was some comment on Sara’s lips, but the blonde held it back. She smiled tightly, then gestured towards the door. “Shall we?”

They left, passing the mess hall, where Mick was sprawled out on top of the table, drinking, as he almost constantly did. Ava took in a breath to reprimand him, but Sara grabbed one of the bottle caps off the ground and flicked it at him, bouncing it off of his head.

“What?” Mick grumbled, eyes still closed.

“We’re heading to Star City, 2018. Oliver needs to talk. Hang out here, but be ready in case we need you.”

He merely let out an enormous belch, that Ava shook her head at.

Sara just smiled. “Nice, Mick.”

“Take the comms,” he added.

“Always do. I’ll be in touch.” Sara started off again, apparently fine with that display.

Ava crossed her arms. “And try to be sober.”

Mick opened his bleary eyes then, the grin looking more ferocious when he was half upside down. The gesture he made with his hand was easily understood, flipped equilibriums and all.

“Mick.” Sara’s voice echoed back as she returned to grab Ava’s arm. Mick lowered his hand and Sara tugged Ava away from the door.

“That’s what I’m talking about, Sara,” Ava said once they were far enough away. “That sort of behavior is unacceptable-”

“In the Bureau, sure. But it’s fine. It’s Mick. He always comes through for me.”

“You need to start running this place a little tighter, otherwise it’s going to fail.”

“What do you suggest?” Sara asked, the smile gone again.

“Chain of command, proper respect, disciplinary action when-”

“Disciplinary action?” Sara echoed with a laugh. “No. I’m not writing up Mick.”

“I don’t understand why you put up with his insubordination and bad attitude,” Ava continued. “He’s useless.”

Sara stopped, and Ava saw a spark in her eyes that she hadn’t seen since they’d first started dating. When Sara was constantly in her way and challenging her, standing up to the Bureau and to Rip and to demons. A spark that faded slightly when she was working in collusion with the Time Bureau, and one that faded a bit more since the end of the Bureau.

“Mick is not useless,” Sara said, unaware of Ava’s trip down memory lane. “He and I are the only ones left from the original mission. He’s the only one who gets what this has all been like, losing Rip and Martin and-” Sara cut herself off and shook her head faintly. “He volunteered to do this job, to make the world better, and he’s been doing a damn fine job. He’s lost a lot, so if the man wants to drink, I don’t care. He’s saved my life before, and I know he’ll do it again if I need it.” She turned away, but paused and looked back at Ava. “And I’m not putting up with him. He’s my family and a part of this team for as long as he wants.”

Ava didn’t say anything else as they made their way to the hatch. John was already there in his trenchcoat, smoke caught between his lips.

“So, what’re we up against today, love?” he asked, looking only at Sara.

Ava kept her irritation to herself as she got the communicators Ray had built before leaving the WaveRider. They were designed to communicate with Gideon and the ship, but could also broadcast to other frequencies. A nice trick when they fought a banshee.

“Don’t know,” Sara said, steadying herself as the ship landed. “Be ready.”

“My favorite missions,” John said with a grin, which Sara returned.

When Ava approached, obviously coming with, John’s smile faded a bit. “Hello, Sharpe.”

“John.”

The hatch opened and the three of them stepped out, Sara in the lead. John caught Sara in some sort of conversation as she led them through the alleys and streets of her hometown, leaving Ava to bring up the rear.

She liked traveling through time. She even liked the group, most days. But she missed the Bureau. Sure, it had rules and structure, but she liked that. She liked knowing how to respond to everything, because protocols were always in place. On the  _ WaveRider _ , no one reacted or behaved how they should. Protocol was nonexistent and the chain of command was what Ava was slowly strangling herself with.

Watching Sara easily converse with John, Ava knew part of it was that she was the new girl. She didn’t have the background and camaraderie that Sara had with them. Sara had earned their respect through years of working alongside them. Ava hadn’t. Sure, she’d managed an entire Bureau of TIme Agents who definitely saved the timeline with more efficiency and successes nine out of ten times, but the  _ WaveRider  _ crew only seemed to recall the one in ten, where they’d swooped in and saved the day through magic plushies and a carnival.

But what was the alternative? Her and Sara’s relationship had been struggling when they’d been separated, so this was the only way for them to continue successfully. If the  _ WaveRider  _ crew didn’t accept her, she’d be losing a lot more than her captaincy.

The office building wasn’t what Ava was expecting, but Sara didn’t hesitate as she led them through the deserted main room to the elevator in the back. The ride down was quick, and they stepped out of the elevator into what was, obviously, the Green Arrow’s hideout.

Oliver Queen was already standing, and Ava could tell from the screens behind him that he’d been watching their approach. He’d always been rather serious when they met, so Ava wasn’t surprised when she was greeted only with a nod. John, surprisingly, got a smile and a handshake, and Sara a hug.

“How are you?” Oliver asked her.

“I’m fine,” Sara said, smiling. “So what’s the big deal?”

“What sort of preternatural, magical horror are you unable to deal with, Queenie-boy?” John grinned.

“It actually has nothing to do with me,” Oliver said, gesturing to the side. “I’m just the middleman.”

A woman approached from the other side of the small command center in the middle of the room. Dark hair and black robes, her olive complexion was as serious as Oliver’s usually was.

“Nyssa?” Sara said, a confused smile on her face.

“Hello, Beloved.”

Ava clenched her jaw slightly as Nyssa, who she was well aware was Sara’s ex, hugged Sara tightly for a long moment.

“What are you doing here?” Sara asked, stepping back from the embrace as it ended.

“I have something that belongs to you,” Nyssa said.

Ava suddenly and viscerally realized that Sara had actually been with every person in this room. All of them. Her eyes darted to Oliver, who was still looking at Sara, and Nyssa, who was also looking at Sara, and then John, who was smirking and looking at Ava. He gave her a little wink and Ava tore her attention away from him and back towards the assassin. She took a step forward to get in line with Sara, which drew her attention.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said, looking a little taken aback. “Uh, Oliver, you already know, but this is John Constantine. He’s a wizard, kind of,” she added, for Nyssa’s benefit. “This is Nyssa al-Ghul, former League of Assassins.” She looked over to Ava, “And this is Ava Sharpe, former head of the Time Bureau and my…”

Ava waited for the words to come - co-captain, girlfriend, beloved, even - but Sara remained silent, her eyes trained on something behind Ava.

They all turned to see what had made Sara quiet. It was another person. A tall man, with close-cut, salt-and-pepper hair, and broad shoulders. His boots were well-worn and the pants a little too tight beneath the dark sweater. Funny, he was wearing a dark blue parka with a fur-lined hood that looked exactly like the one in Sara’s closet. Ava had once tried to get Sara to get rid of it - she’d never worn it that Ava had seen - or pack it away, but Sara had flat-out refused. And there had been no knife compromise that time. His eyes were fixated on Sara, and Ava saw the man swallow silently.

Ava waited for Sara to speak up, to ask who the hell this guy was, but she was silent. Looking over, she noticed that the blood had left Sara’s face, like she’d seen a ghost.

“Leo?” John asked.

The man’s startlingly blue eyes left Sara’s momentarily to land on John.

“I prefer Leonard.”

His voice was slow and deliberate, and if Ava hadn’t been standing so close to Sara, she might have missed the faint trembling in her girlfriend’s fingers as she lifted them to the comm at her ear.

“Gideon?” she asked, her eyes still trained on the man - Leonard. Her voice was quiet and higher than normal. She almost sounded...scared? It was hard to tell, it happened so rarely.

**“Just a moment, Captain,”** Gideon said through their comms.

Leonard’s eyes were back on Sara. “Don’t you recognize me, assassin?” he asked, taking a step forward.

That word, thrown about so casually, when Ava had a hard time reconciling it with the Sara she knew, was almost like a term of endearment to him. He even smiled as Sara’s hand went to the small of her back, where she kept one of her knives, but didn’t move closer.

“Seen a few too many of you since your big exit, crook,” Sara said back, her eyes darting between his. Another insult said like an inside joke.

“Please, I’m one of a kind.”

“Turns out,” John said quietly, “no one is, mate.”

“Well,” Leonard said, the smile still in place, “imitation is the highest form of flattery, I suppose.”

**“Captain.”** Ava could hear Gideon’s voice with both ears, meaning it was broadcasting out to all of them.  **“This man is exhibiting trace amounts of non-lethal Oculus radiation, and the timeline confirms it. This is Leonard Snart, of the original** **_WaveRider_ ** **team. And if I might add, welcome back, Mr. Snart.”**

Ava knew she wasn’t imagining the gentle tone of the AI now. Like it was fond of this man. She didn’t know much about Leonard Snart. Just that he was a member of the original team and that he died.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Gideon,” Leonard said, sounding like he meant it. He wasn’t smiling anymore.

“How?” Sara managed to ask. “You...you died.”

Ava looked over at Sara again, the tone she’d thought was fear still there. Not fear, then. Pain? Sorrow? But how could someone hold in an emotion like that without letting it through? How had Ava never noticed?

“He appeared where the Lazarus Pit once was,” Nyssa said. “Luckily, the League had already been disbanded, or he would have been killed on sight.”

**“The Lazarus Pit in Nanda Parbat is one of the most unstable time spots on the planet, where timelines begin and end so often. If Mr. Snart was thrown from the Oculus, the Pit would have been the most similar location in the universe.”**

John swore. “You are a lucky bastard, Snart.”

“Didn’t feel all that lucky,” Leonard admitted.

“When I told him my name, he asked for you, Beloved. I would have refused, but he was able to tell me things that no one else but you could have told him.” Nyssa glanced over at Sara, the first sign of confusion breaking through, but Sara was still staring at the man. “I contacted Oliver, and we came here as swiftly as we could.”

“Seems like I’ve still missed a bit, though,” Leonard said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Several years, in fact.”

“Yeah,” Sara agreed quietly. Her hand finally left the knife at her back and she took a step closer to him.

“Mick? And Lisa?” he asked her quietly.

“Good. Both are good. Mick is on the ship, still. And we send money to Lisa when we can. He checks in on her.”

He let out a sigh, and Ava saw some tension leave his shoulders. Who was Lisa? Why was Sara sending money to her?

“Savage?” he asked.

“Dead,” Sara said. “Killed him myself, sort of.”

“Good,” Leonard said, sounding like he meant it, and not at all put off at Sara’s casual admittance of murder. “The rest of the team? Have to say, I’m looking forward to rubbing my continued existence into Hunter’s face.”

Sara’s eyes didn’t drop from him, but Ava noticed the increase of tension as she shook her head. “Rip died, a few years back.”

Leonard’s expression flickered for a moment before it went back to the calm. “Damn.”

Oliver cleared his throat. “Why don’t we give you two a minute?” he suggested. He gestured towards a room off the main one, with a glass wall that faced out into the main area. A long table made up most of it, with chairs scattered about. John and Nyssa followed Oliver, but Ava hesitated. Sara didn’t even look at her, and Ava was about to say something, but John called back to her.

“Sharpe.”

Biting her tongue, Ava went through the door John was holding open and took a seat where she could watch the two of them talk. Leonard leaned on the railing of the short steps that led up to the communications table, and Sara mirrored him on the other side, her arms crossed. Ava could see their mouths moving, but couldn’t hear them through the glass.

“How does he know her?” Nyssa asked after a few moments. She wasn’t sitting, but standing with her back to the glass. It was obvious who she was referring to.

Oliver was in the seat next to Ava, though he wasn’t as fixated on the two outside. “From what I understand, Leonard Snart was a criminal in Central City known as Captain Cold, partner of Mick Rory, or Heatwave. He was recruited, like Sara was, for Rip Hunter’s first mission to defeat Vandal Savage. He didn’t survive.”

“Goes a bit beyond that, mate,” Constantine said, lounging in his chair at the head of the table.

Oliver glanced at him. “How so?”

“The way Palmer told it, Rory was holding the bomb at the Oculus, to give everyone enough time to get away. Sara and Leonard got there, and Leonard took Rory’s place. Sara got Rory out, but Leonard went up with the Oculus.”

Ava frowned. Mick had never seemed the type to sacrifice himself. And if Leonard had been his partner, that would have been difficult to overcome.

“But you’ve seen him,” Ava said, glancing at John.

“I worked with Leo Snart, from Earth-X. And a past version of Snart was working with the Legion of Doom.”

“Pardon me?” Nyssa said, her brow arched.

“I didn’t name them, love. Merlyn, Darhk, Thawne, and Snart got ahold of the Spear of Destiny, and apparently things went down. I wasn’t there for that, just heard rumors.”

Ava looked back out, to see Sara smiling at something Leonard had said. The lines Ava had grown used to seeing around her mouth and between her eyes were gone. It wasn’t that Sara never laughed or smiled, but she looked lighter, now. Happy, in a way that Ava hadn’t seen for a long time.

Discomfited, Ava turned her eyes to her companions again, to John’s sprawling figure, Nyssa leaning against the wall, and Oliver sitting back in his chair, his arm resting on the table. Her own back was ramrod straight, and her hands clasped in front of her.

Sara had given her a brief history of most of the people on her team. Ava knew how Jax was all heart and bravery, and risked his life to save Martin. She knew that Martin had treated Sara like an adopted daughter, but still allowed her to come up and take her rightful place as captain. She knew that Rip had shot Sara when he was mind-controlled.

But all she’d ever heard of Leonard was that he died. There was a difference between someone who died, and someone who’d given his life to save his partner specifically. And to die in that way was...it was heroic, what he’d done.

They were still talking, but Sara uncrossed her arms and gestured with her hand. Leonard’s eyes snapped to her hand and he reached out, almost like he was going to take it, but paused and pointed at something.

Sara shrugged as she touched a ring on her hand. Ava knew that ring. It was just a wide, silver band. One of the many rings that Sara wore constantly, and nothing special. Or so Ava had thought.

“I’m sorry,” Nyssa said, suddenly drawing Ava’s attention again. She was looking directly at Ava. “But who are you?”

“I’m Ava Sharpe, direct-former director of the Time Bureau in Central City,” Ava said, looking over at her.

“A government official?” Nyssa said, with an obvious note of disapproval.

“More government-adjacent,” Ava corrected with a thin smile.

Nyssa scoffed, turning back to the window.

“Hey,” John spoke up. “Sharpe here has been quite useful in a pinch, and we’ve seen enough to even ruffle your assassin-like feathers.”

“Thank you,” Ava responded, the words not sounding quite so choked.

John winked at her. “‘Sides, she’s Sara’s girl now.”

Ava didn’t mind being outed as Sara’s girlfriend, but there was something that irked her about the way that John said it. When she was at the Bureau, Sara had been “Director Sharpe’s girlfriend.” Now, she was “Sara’s girl.” It shouldn’t matter, because the result was the same, right?

“You?” Nyssa said, the disbelief even more irritating than the disapproval. “Why?”

“Sara and I worked against one another for a while, for the same purpose, but eventually saw eye-to-eye.”

“Minus the killing of magical creatures,” Oliver said unexpectedly.

Ava cut her eyes over to the vigilante, noting the scars on his arms and fingers. They were similar to Sara’s and the little she could see from Nyssa’s skin. Covering one unscarred hand with the other, Ava addressed him. “We resolved that issue.”

“I’m sure you did,” Oliver said, his smile not even pretending to touch his eyes.

John let out a little huff of laughter, taking a sip from his flask. “Anyone else fancy a drink? Or are we going to continue to ignore the elephant in the room?”

“What elephant?” Nyssa asked.

“The fact that everyone in this room has slept with our interesting Captain Sara-”

Oliver’s gaze narrowed. Nyssa rolled her eyes at John. Ava was glaring through his skull.

“-and yet she’s out there with him.” John pointed out the glass window to where Sara and Leonard were still talking. “So what makes the crook so special?”

“It’s none of our business,” Oliver said after a minute.

“Oh, of course, especially not you and me, mate. We were just a quick shag and a distraction.” John grinned. “But you,” he looked at Nyssa, “you were her first love, weren’t you?”

“She is my Beloved,” Nyssa admitted.

“You’re not together anymore,” Ava couldn’t help but point out.

Nyssa turned her dark gaze on Ava. “No. Relationships are more than togetherness. I love her, but know that we are both better off without the other. I loved her for the time she was mine, and I shall always love her for what she gave me, but we are not meant to be together. I know that she still cares for me, as well, in a similar way. But loving someone doesn’t always mean being together if it’s not the best for both.”

Ava wasn’t thrilled with that assessment, but she knew that Sara wasn’t interested in pursuing the assassin any longer. She couldn’t ignore John’s suggestion though. “She’s out there with him because they were teammates. She thought he died. She’s obviously happy to have him back.”

“From the way Rory said it, they were a bit more than teammates, love,” John said, taking another drink.

Ava glared at him. “And what did Rory say?”

“That the three of them, Rory, Snart, and Sara, were inseparable when they joined the team. Troublemakers, saving Hunter’s arse left and right, playing cards and drinking in between.” John’s smile faded, and he took a long sip of his drink.

Ava wanted to be angry, but the expression on his face wasn’t something John showed often. Compassion. Concern.

She knew there was a deck of cards in the nightstand with Sara’s knives, but she also knew that she’d never seen Sara play cards, not once.

John continued quietly, “She and Snart helped bring Rory back from being mind-controlled by the Time Masters. That Snart helped talk Sara down off of her bloodlust.”

Oliver frowned at that one, his eyes turning to the criminal out there, still talking easily with Sara, who wasn’t making a quip or pun and walking away, but fully engaging, without any of the hesitation Ava had been seeing on her recently. They never talked about Sara’s bloodlust. Ava had told her once that she was amazed that Sara had been able to overcome it, and Sara said she hadn’t done it alone, but Ava had thought she meant-

“He said that the two of them saved the team together until Snart died for them.” John spared a tight, mirthless smile with the table. “And I know that Sara’s spoken of everyone else who’s gone to me or Gideon - her sister, her father, Martin, Hunter, Amaya, but she never talks about Snart. And it’s obviously not ‘cause she didn’t care.”

“I read his file,” Oliver said, seemingly out of nowhere. “When Laurel told me who Sara was leaving with. Snart’s father was a crooked cop, and his kids missed more school than they should have. More medical records than any kid should have.”

“Yeah, but didn’t he also kill his own father?” John asked.

“The Flash was involved in that,” Oliver said after a moment, his eyes darting to Nyssa briefly. “Apparently Snart’s father tried to kill the daughter. Snart made sure he couldn’t. And the Flash said he always thought Snart was hiding more heroics than he let on.”

Nyssa nodded thoughtfully. “Two damaged people coming together isn’t surprising. Finding that comfort from the storm around them.”

Ava spoke, her voice sounding a little too loud, “Sara’s not damaged. Not anymore.”

John smiled gently at her. “Breaks like Sara’s don’t heal completely, love. They just get easier to bear.”

“She’s recovered from it. Moved on,” Ava said.

“So she doesn't still sleep with a blade within reach?” Nyssa challenged.

Ava glared at the assassin.

“The things Sara went through,” Oliver said, “what both of us went through, aren’t things you recover from. Like John said, they get easier to bear, but Sara is damaged, and that’s okay. She’s also strong and resilient, and brave. But ignoring that the past happened doesn’t make it disappear.”

“Maybe not for you,” Ava said. “But Sara isn’t broken or damaged. Her past is behind her.”

John chuckled, “Actually, he’s right in front of her.”

Ava got to her feet abruptly, startling the vigilante next to her and the assassin at the wall. They both tensed, hands going to their waists like Ava had seen Sara’s do a thousand times, be it in the heat of a fight or a loud noise when they were on the ship alone, or when Ava entered a room unexpectedly. There was a sparking around John’s fingers that was incongruent with the lazy position he was still in. Every person in this room could kill her right now before she could even get close to drawing her gun. She took a breath and the others calmed, the sparks vanishing.

“Sara loves me,” Ava said, ignoring the pitying smile she got from John, and the indecipherable look she got from Oliver.

She couldn’t ignore Nyssa’s quiet comment. “But is it for the best?”

Ava started to the door, ignoring Oliver calling her name and John’s attempt at getting up. She pushed open the glass door, something like panic in her throat as she approached Sara and Leonard. They were still talking, mirroring each other’s positions on the stairs, but Leonard broke off as he saw Ava approaching. She couldn’t see Sara’s face but watched as she straightened from her lounging position, and turned towards her.

Ava pretended not to see the lines appearing around Sara’s eyes again.

She pretended not to see the way her fingers flinched towards her knife.

She pretended not to notice how this man was allowed to stand behind Sara, when Ava knew that Sara only let people she trusted intimately get that close.

She pretended not to feel something worse than panic.

Sara didn’t hesitate when Ava came up. “Leonard, this is Ava. My girlfriend.”

The right words.

Leonard didn’t blink. “Nice to meet you. Leonard Snart.”

The right reaction.

As they shook hands, Ava felt the marks on Leonard’s palm. The same weapons-based callouses Mick and Sara had. The same scars Oliver and Nyssa had. The things Ava didn’t have and didn’t want.

They said their goodbyes as Ava avoided Nyssa and Oliver’s eyes. They walked back to the _WaveRider_ , Ava and Sara holding hands as Ava ignored John’s glare and Leonard’s footsteps.

Sara talked on the way back, her and John keeping the conversation going. Talking about Leonard rejoining the team and how thrilled Mick would be. Catching Leonard up on the new teammates and missions. When they got back to the ship, Mick greeted them, obviously informed by Gideon.

The two criminals grinned and shook hands, starting off into the ship, and Ava saw how the dynamics would slip into place, with Leonard keeping Mick in line, and the two of them giving Sara more support as Ava stayed at her side. It could work. It would be good.

But she couldn’t ignore the truth.

* * *

Ava stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to talk herself out of this. Sara hadn’t said anything, wouldn’t ever say anything, as long as Ava didn’t bring it up. All she had to do was keep her mouth shut.

Well, that was the one trick of government work she hadn’t quite perfected.

She stepped out into the room she and Sara shared. Sara was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall. Ava cleared her throat and Sara blinked, looking up at her.

“Sorry, babe. Spaced there, for a second,” Sara said, smiling.

Ava couldn’t muster up a return smile.

“Are you okay?” Sara asked.

Ava didn’t even bother to answer that. “Leonard Snart. What were the two of you?”

Sara’s smile vanished, but she didn’t try to lie or play dumb. “We were...friends. Close friends.”

“And that’s all?” Ava asked, already knowing that it wasn’t.

Sara shrugged a little. “Right before the Oculus blew, he mentioned something about maybe the two of us having a future. And we kissed, once. But then he died.”

“Why didn’t you ever talk about him?” Ava asked.

Sara rolled her eyes, scoffing. “I don’t know. Most of the people who knew him are gone. Ray's trying to move on, Martin and Rip are dead. Kendra, Carter, and Jax left, and Mick was going through enough. No one else would have understood. There was never a great time. I just...it was something I dealt with on my own.”

“But you still care about him.”

Sara got to her feet. “Of course I do. He’s my friend. What are you trying to say?”

“That you love him?” Ava countered.

Sara blinked, and Ava bit her lip. She hadn’t meant for that to come out like that, so suddenly, but it was out now.

“That you love him,” Ava repeated, quieter this time.

Sara sighed. “Look, there was...maybe a spark or something, but we never got anywhere. He died, and I met you. I love you,” she said, stepping forward and taking Ava’s hands.

“I love you, too,” Ava said quietly. “I love that you speak your mind. I love that you stand up to people. But what I love most is that you always go for what you believe in. And I…” She swallowed, knowing she had to do this. “I think you believe in that crook.”

“Ava,” Sara started.

“If I weren’t here. If we’d never met, would you be here right now, or would you be with Snart?”

She sputtered, “I-I don’t know. That’s unfair to ask. You are who I’ve chosen. Whatever Leonard and I might have had...yeah, I care about him, and we might have had something, but he died, Ava.”

“And now he’s back.”

Sara’s mouth moved for a moment, but no sound came out.

“I think I could have been okay,” Ava said quietly, “being the one you went to after he died. He was gone and you moved on.” She looked down to where Sara’s scars met her unblemished skin. “But I don’t want to be the person you forced yourself to stay with. I don’t want you to live with doubts about what might have been.”

“Ava, come on, I wouldn’t leave you to try to make it work with someone else-”

“Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn’t have a single regret if you and I stayed together, right now.”

“I chose you,” Sara said instead.

“When he wasn’t an option. That isn’t a choice, Sara. That’s settling.” She let go of Sara’s hands. “As much as I love you, I don’t want to be your second choice. So I’m choosing not to be.”

She stepped back from Sara and raised her voice. “Gideon, set a course for Central City, 2019. Please.”

**“Right away, Miss Sharpe,”** Gideon said, sounding nicer than Ava had ever heard it-her be.

Ava went to the closet and pulled out the bag she’d already packed while Sara was in the bathroom. She looked at Sara, still standing in the middle of the room.

It hurt, of course. But now as much as she thought it would. There was a sense of pressure that left Ava’s shoulders, a constant anger she hadn’t known she was carrying. The lines on Sara’s face were already beginning to smooth over, and Ava cursed at the thought that Nyssa had been right. Loving someone doesn’t always mean you should be together.

“Tell me part of you isn’t relieved,” Ava said, trying on a tiny smile. “Because I’m a little relieved.”

Sara laughed through the faint tears in her eyes. “ _ WaveRider _ isn’t for you?”

“I think government work is calling my name. Maybe ARGUS is hiring.”

They shared a smile before Ava’s slipped away.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Ava said, knowing that was true. Sara would have stayed with her, if Ava asked. But she didn’t want to have to ask. She wanted to be someone’s first choice. She wanted someone to look at her the way Leonard had looked at Sara.

She thought about going for one last kiss, but decided on a hug instead. She felt the knives Sara still carried pressing against her stomach and arms, and let out a little sigh.

“Goodbye, Lance,” Ava said, pulling away.

“So long, Sharpe,” Sara responded.

Ava left the room that never truly felt like hers, walked through the ship she never truly belonged to, and knocked on the door of the man who had never truly left Sara.

Leonard arched a brow once the door slid open. “Sharpe,” he greeted. His eyes darted over the bag, and the red eyes Ava knew she was sporting - she’d always been an obvious crier. His stance went tense, defensive, as if he thought Ava was here to yell at him.

A tiny part of her wanted to, but she squashed that down. “I’m leaving the ship. We broke up.”

Leonard’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t ask her to do that.”

“I broke up with her,” Ava clarified.

“Why?”

The word was so simple and stunned that Ava knew that the years hadn’t changed Leonard all that much. He still wanted whatever future he’d mentioned before.

“Because I love her, and want her to be happy.” There was more, but that really was the end result.

“She seems happy with you,” Leonard responded, no trace of bitterness in his tone. God, he was a lot better than she would have been in his position.

“She was. But she’d be happier with you. And everyone knows it.” Ava shrugged. “Including her.”

Leonard’s eyes darted between hers. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Ava admitted. She could feel the tears building behind her eyes and knew she had to get out of here before she embarrassed herself even more. “So, don’t hurt her, or all of her exes will work together to kill you. And they’re a pretty scary group.”

“I think she can kill me without help, but I’ll remember that nonetheless,” he said.

They didn’t shake hands. They weren’t friends. The only thing they had in common was that they loved the same woman, which wasn’t any way to forge a friendship. Ava merely nodded and left.

She made her way past the mess hall, seeing Mick at the counter, not drinking, but...cooking? She didn’t say anything but continued on.

She stopped at the hatch, feeling the _WaveRider_ leave the timestream and begin to descend. The ship settled, and the hatch hissed open.

“You ended up being a class act, Sharpe.”

Ava turned, seeing Constantine lurking in the shadows.

“One of us had to be,” she answered.

He grinned and winked at her. “See you around, Director.”

“See you around, John.”

With a deep breath and slow exhale, Ava stepped off the  _ WaveRider _ , and the door closed behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As hinted, a little followup to this one-shot.

Leonard Snart didn’t believe he was a lucky man.

Luck wasn’t the kind of thing to hang around someone like him. Not with his dad. Not with his house. Not with his childhood. Not with his path. Not with his life.

And definitely not with his death.

But, then he came back. And that wasn’t something he was expecting. Granted, he arrived in the middle of a frozen mountain usually haunted by assassins, but they were currently disbanded assassins. He somehow met the one person who knew Sara Lance on this side of the world, then got him to the Green Arrow (Who was Oliver Queen? He knew it.), who got him to Sara. One of three people he truly cared about in this world, and the one he’d actually hoped for a future with, only to come back-

Four years too late.

He wasn’t bitter or surprised or angry. It had been four years and they hadn’t been...anything when he died, so he hadn’t been expecting something. He was disappointed, certainly, but it was better to be alive and in the life he’d missed, even if it wasn’t everything he wanted.

Besides, how could he blame anyone for wanting to be with Sara?

But now, Ava Sharpe had left, and Leonard seriously had to reconsider his luck.

He stared at the closed door, relief and tension ratcheting up in equal measures. Relief that he had a chance and tension for the same. If he accepted the idea of luck, he’d have to consider the complication of timing, too. Too soon after a breakup and he’d be nothing more than a rebound, too late and he ran the risk of implying he wasn’t interested anymore. Running his hand over his head, he resigned himself to dealing with this complication tomorrow-

A knock on his door interrupted him again.

Leonard sighed, already knowing who it would be, and calling out as he opened the door. “Mick, now is not the-”

The door slid open, and Sara was on the other side of it.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi.” Leonard just stared at her for a minute.

She held up a pack of cards. “Gin?”

“Sure.” He stepped back, and Sara came in, taking her usual spot on the bed and shuffling the cards.

Leonard took a second to compose himself, and sat across from her.

They played a few hands, but Leonard knew he wasn’t very good competition. He was too distracted. Their third game, Sara put down her cards.

“Ava left,” she said, her eyes on the comforter.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.”

Leonard put down his cards, unsure of what to say.

“I’m sad that she’s unhappy,” Sara said, straightening up the deck. “But I’m more relieved than anything.”

Watching her expression, Leonard knew she was telling the truth. There were lines around her eyes that he didn’t remember from before, and he could see a few strands of gray in her hair. Just a couple, but still, enough to show how long he’d really been gone. But it wasn’t different enough that he couldn’t read the honesty.

Dropping his gaze, he changed the subject. “You seem to be pretty good at this captain business.”

She was quiet for a moment, still watching him, then seemed to allow the conversation change. “I mess it up a lot.”

“Well, you haven’t died yet, so you must be doing something right.” He reached for the deck, intent on shuffling and going through the motions of a game, even if he would lose horrifically, just so he had something else to look at. When Sara didn’t respond, he looked up.

“I did,” she said quietly. “Die again.”

The deck was in his hand, but forgotten. “How?”

“The Legion had this brainwashing thing, and they got Rip with it.” Her tone was distanced, but he knew that was an act. It was the same fake lighthearted voice she’d used when they were both freezing to death. “He shot me, and while Gideon was trying to fix me up, he got on the ship and came into the med bay and...finished the job.”

The anger that coursed through him was useless; it was over and done with, and there was nothing he could do. Logic seemed to have no effect, though.

“Sure I can’t go back and kill these Legion guys?” Leonard asked, his words clipped.

Sara shook her head. “No, they got what was coming to them.”

“Good.”

They fell into a weighted silence, both of them looking at the other. It was a charged moment, and both of them made to speak at the same time.

“So are you still a hell of a-” she began.

“At the Oculus, when you-” he started.

They both broke off, and Sara gestured for him to go first. He wanted to defer, but this needed to be said.

“I just…” he began again, his eyes on the cards in his hands, “I wanted you to know that I don’t have any...expectations. The Oculus was just a few days ago for me, but I know it’s been much longer than that for you.”

“It has been,” Sara agreed quietly. “Four really long years.”

He looked up to see her eyes were still on him, the cerulean blue that looked so much like the Oculus. The last thing he’d seen.

She kept going, her words softer. “And I missed you every single day.” There was a small smile. “The  _ WaveRider  _ is definitely my home, but after the Oculus, it never felt the same. I love the team, but there was no you.”

“Lance,” he said quietly, going to put the cards down. He didn’t know if he was trying to stop her or beg her to continue.

“Sorry, crook,” she said, interrupting him, “but I’ve got four years of regret and promises not to make the same mistake twice, so you have to hear me out. Please.”

As if he could deny her anything at this point.

She took in a small breath, obviously nervous, but determined to keep going. “My biggest regret, in a long line of regrets, is not telling you that I was also thinking about a future with me and you. That being friends with you is the closest I’ve ever been to anyone, and that I felt more like myself with you than with anyone else. You make me better and we’re a great team, and you throw a hell of a punch, and I love you.”

God, was this a twisted scenario. The one thing he wanted most in this life, handed to him on a golden platter. But he forced himself to stand up, taking a few steps away from her, trying to put some distance.

“Sara, it’s been four years-”

“And I’ve had a lot of time to become very certain of my feelings,” she countered, getting to her feet, but remaining by the bed. “What about you?”

“I...feel the same as I did before the Oculus.”

“So what’s the problem?” she asked.

“I don’t want to be a rebound,” he said quietly.

“You aren’t.”

“You just ended things with Ava, I don’t want to-”

“Len, it was always you.”

He wanted so very badly to believe that, and couldn’t come up with a counterargument.

Sara pressed her advantage. “I get what you’re saying, but there was no getting over you. There was just...trying to make the best of things. And I wasn’t unhappy with Ava, most of the time. But seeing you today was ten times better than my best moments with her.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“I know. I know you didn’t. But you and I…” she sighed, taking a step forward as she struggled to find her words. “Every other relationship I’ve had has started with intimacy and then sometimes ended up in friendship, but it was all very sudden and intense. With you, it was the opposite. You and I were friends first. You know me better than anyone. You...understand it all, more than anyone else has. The bloodlust and the assassin are still me, even if it isn’t as important anymore. You know the importance of the scars.”

Leonard dropped his eyes to his own scarred hands as she kept going.

“Ava wanted the Sara from two years after the Oculus, and nothing before. Nothing about the assassin or the vigilante. She wanted me to pretend I was okay all the time.” Her voice started getting thicker, but Leonard didn’t look up, allowing her to gather herself and continue. “Even before we were close, you didn’t mind when I wasn’t okay. You saw everything I hated about myself and still talked to me like a person. You held me accountable without talking down. You helped me become better without making me feel like it wasn’t okay to fail.”

He closed his eyes, wondering if he was going to wake up back inside the Oculus or in some dreamscape where none of this was real. That would truly be hell.

When he opened his eyes, Sara was right in front of him, that assassin-stealth still in play. He could see the glimmer of tears on the edge of her eyelashes.

“If you need to wait, I’ll wait,” she said quietly. “But I don’t want there to be any confusion about this. I’m not missing another chance. I love you, Leonard Snart, and you don’t have to be a hell of a thief to get a kiss, because it’s always been yours. Now, tomorrow, or in another four years, it’s yours.”

Well, how could he resist?

Leonard leaned down, gently pressing his lips to hers, taking his time, his arms wrapped around her, the way their first kiss should have gone. Sara followed his lead, her arms tossed around his neck as they held one another close.

When they broke apart, another four years could have passed for all he cared. He saw Sara alive and smiling in his arms, and it was like he’d never died at all.

“I’ve never been a fan of delayed gratification,” he said quietly.

“Me neither.”

“I love you, too.”

“Welcome home.”

Leonard figured maybe luck was real after all.

* * *

It was another four years before Ava saw the  _ WaveRider  _ again. She’d been hired by ARGUS, thanks to an anonymous recommendation she had her suspicions about, but could never prove. It was solid, useful work. She had a schedule she could stick to, she knew her roles, and flourished under the protocol, commanding her own sector in just under two years. She met a woman named Aisha, who worked in Research and Development, who liked date night and staying home on the weekends, and baking. They dated for a year before moving in together, and had been happily living together for another year. Aisha knew she was a clone and didn’t care. She had a ferret, but no catty AI, and the only scars on her were from research gone wrong at work and an appendectomy when she was twelve. There were no knives in their beds and no exes lurking around every corner. Ava had an engagement ring in her nightstand and plans for that Friday.

And then aliens arrived and there was another damn crossover, and the  _ WaveRider  _ shot into existence right above the battlefield in Star City.

Ava had been in the thick of the battle for a while already, and took a breather behind an overturned truck as the  _ WaveRider  _ crew rolled out of the ship. John was still there in his warlock glory, sporting a new coat and a red tie as his hands exploded with arcane energy. Mick was right behind him, his heat gun still shooting flames, but they were more focused and Ava saw him helping people away from the fight as often as he threw himself into it. There were others Ava didn’t recognize, but she admitted her attention was drawn to the two figures in the center of the fray.

Sara was still as Ava remembered her. The reckless grin on her face and the sticks in her hand doing more damage than some of the newer ARGUS recruits and their guns. Her blonde hair whipped in arcs around her as she spun and moved gracefully, leaving a trail of broken alien corpses behind her.

And yet, for all of her speed and unexpected moves, the tall man at her side seemed to be an extension of her. They moved in tandem; every opening left by Sara was covered by the man in the dark goggles and gun that shot ice. Every alien that got past him was dropped by her. Every assault too far for her to cut off was frozen by him. She ducked and he stayed high, she bobbed, he weaved. They moved as an indestructible unit, and the alien forces were forced back.

Just once, Ava saw a break in their dance. A lucky shot knocking the gun out of the man’s hand and leaving him open. He reached back, his arm wrapping around Sara to pull a knife from the small of her back, which he threw with perfect accuracy. He picked up his gun in the next heartbeat, dropping a kiss on Sara’s cheek in the next, and they continued on.

Sara Lance and Leonard Snart really were perfect for one another.

“Ava!”

Ava looked over as Aisha dodged a swarm of aliens to get up next to her. She clutched at Ava’s arm, her eyes wide.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ava said. “You?”

“Well, relatively speaking, I’ve definitely been better,” Aisha said. “And I could do with fewer aliens.”

“Me too. What are you even doing out here?”

Aisha huffed, blowing her dark hair out of her face. “Oh, well, Reynolds told me you were out here, and I was worried. And also, in case aliens take over the world or something, I wanted to ask you to marry me, if we survive and all.”

Ava stared at her in shock. “I was going to ask you.”

“Oh,” Aisha said, flushing. “Then I guess I know your answer, huh?”

“Yes!” Ava said.

The kiss they shared was a little frantic, but still wonderful in Ava’s mind. Aisha hung behind Ava as ARGUS pushed forward with the  _ WaveRider _ ’s help, driving the aliens back.

When the battle was through, the crowds were mixing, everyone thanking one another as the Flash darted through them all, cleaning up bodies and getting people to the hospital who needed it.

Ava and Aisha were walking hand in hand through the masses when Ava heard a familiar voice.

“That’s three knives you owe me now, crook.”

“However will I be able to get you another one?” a less familiar voice drawled.

A laugh, and Ava saw them up ahead, Sara tucked under Leonard’s arm as they made their way back to their ship.

“Hell of a honeymoon,” Sara commented, her eyes on Leonard.

“Please, an alien invasion is nothing. After Barry’s, it’s almost expected. And if you hadn’t gotten to stab anything, you would have been disappointed.”

“True,” Sara laughed, leaning into him.

Leonard’s eyes caught Ava’s in the crowd, and she saw him tense slightly. Then he noticed Aisha next to her, hands clasped, and gave Ava a small nod.

Ava returned it, and the two couples passed without any other acknowledgment.

Aisha let out a long sigh. “I vote take out and a B movie with zero aliens.”

“Only if we add a long bath in between food and movies,” Ava added.

“I knew I loved you for a good reason,” Aisha said, grinning up at her as if she were the only person in the world.

Yes, Sara and Leonard were perfect for each other, but that was good.

“Let’s go home.”

Because though part of Ava would always love Sara, they were happiest apart.


End file.
